Made for Generations – Inspirational Women on Coins

For centuries, Britannia has inspired a nation and we are proud to tell her story to each new generation. The exclusive editions of our Britannia 2022 UK Coin celebrate the diversity of the women around us – a theme that has been explored on coins throughout history.

For these particular coins, the artist Sandra Deiana has taken the classic theme of ‘The Three Ages of Woman’ and transformed it for modern coin collectors. The Austrian symbolist artist Gustav Klimt, in whose work the passing of time was a recurring theme, depicted the subject in 1905 in a seminal painting. Instead of portraying older women in the unflattering light reminiscent of Klimt’s art, the design for our exclusive Britannia coin celebrates the wisdom and knowledge of women at this stage in their life.

Sandra’s design shows representations of Britannia as a young girl, a young woman and an older woman. The childhood years are formative, when significant events and experiences shape personalities, but from the late teens into adulthood, responsibility becomes more apparent. A young woman is not necessarily a mother but is able to nurture and mentor others, whilst also looking to her own future. Able to offer a perspective on life to younger generations, the more mature woman has modern views represented by strength and wisdom.

Over the years, we have celebrated and commemorated some of the most influential women in British history, most notably Her Majesty The Queen, whose portrait graces every UK coin. From a young princess who did not expect to become queen to one of the most respected and popular heads of state in the world, Her Majesty has recently marked a record-breaking 70 years as monarch. Our coins reflect the incredible changes Her Majesty has witnessed during her life and reign, which she has dedicated to serving the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth.

Recently, history has been revised to reveal the stories of strong and clever women who have helped shape our world, highlighting their successes alongside the men whose names are more widely known.  One such story is that of the remarkable scientist Rosalind Franklin, whose studies contributed to the discovery of the molecular structure of DNA.

Franklin died in 1958 at the age of just 37 without gaining the recognition she deserved. In 2020, we released a UK 50p coin in commemoration of her achievements and dedication to science.

The author Jane Austen is another figure who died relatively young, at the age of 41. It might be hard to believe it today but she was almost entirely unknown in her lifetime and her works, including Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion and Sense and Sensibility, all went out of print. Her memory was revived more than 50 years after her death, when her nephew released A Memoir of Jane Austen in 1870 and she started to gain fans all over the world. In 2017, we released a commemorative UK £2 coin to celebrate Jane Austen’s life and work, inspiring new readers with her story.

An author who certainly achieved success in her lifetime was Dame Agatha Christie, whose first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, was published in 1920 and introduced readers to the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. Since then, Christie has become the most translated author and best-selling novelist in the world. In 2020, we celebrated the 100th anniversary of The Mysterious Affair at Styles with a UK £2 coin featuring a reverse design by David Lawrence.

Famed for its geology and the many exciting discoveries made there by Mary Anning in the early nineteenth century, the Jurassic Coast in Dorset, England, is a World Heritage Site. Anning’s father taught her to hunt for fossils and, following his death, she put these skills to good use to support her family. When Anning was just 12 or 13, she discovered the first articulated skeleton of a marine reptile called ichthyosaur. She went on to make many further discoveries, teaching herself anatomy and giving her drawings to geologists to enhance their knowledge. Prior to her death in 1847, her work was rarely acknowledged but the name of the coastline she knew so well bears her legacy. The second series in our Tales of the Earth Collection of dinosaur-themed coins celebrates the story of this great female discoverer.